Update: Just released, the Greek foreign minister apologized for the incident.
I heard about it yesterday but only today I was able to read a bit more into the “diplomatic incident” caused with the upside-down Albanian flag during the joint press conference of the Greek and Albanian foreign ministers in Athens yesterday.
This “incident” did not cause a reaction on the part of the Albanian foreign ministry (for obvious reasons) but the Greek foreign ministry has not reacted either, which is another indicator (at least in my mind) that the incident was intentional.
At their face-to-face meeting, beyond the warm smiles and handshakes our two foreign ministers had some hard talks about major issues affecting our two countries, which obviously were not all to the liking of the Greek protocol people who, intentionally or not, caused this incident in the first place.
The Albanian media was quick to point the incident out. In my opinion, this is a true “diplomatic incident” and despite the fact that it was or not intentional it does convey the Greek’s sense of hostility and less then amicable attitude toward us as their neighbor. Apologies on the part of the Greek foreign minister will clarify the true intent of this incident.
Below you will find the news report by one of the major Albanian media TV channels – Top Channel.
